Egg carton



D. LEVKOFF Nov. 24, 1964 EGG CARTON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 17, 1961 WIN INVENTOR David Levkoff ATTORNEYS D. LEVKOFF EGG CARTON Nov. 24, 1-964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 17, 1961 INVENTOR David Levkoff ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,158,389 1 EGG CARTON David Levkofi, 36 Barstow Road, Great Neck, N.Y. Filed Nov. 17, 1961, Ser. No. 153,008 2 Claims. ((1 229-28) This invention relates to egg cartons and, more particularly, to a single-piece egg carton having an imperforate egg-supporting bottom wall and characterized by a structure which maintains the egg-supporting bottom Wall above the plane on which the carton rests.

In the design of an egg carton structure, every effort is made to cradle each egg so as to protect it in storage and in transit. To accomplish this important objective many prior art egg cartons have been provided with an egg-supporting bottom Wallpositioned above the plane on which the erected carton rests, the bottom wall commonly comprising two bottom wall panels each extending inwardly and upwardly from the bottom edge of each of the side walls of the carton to one or more centrally positioned downwardly extending bottom wall supports. These bottom wall supports are normally tab-like downward extensions of the transverse or longitudinal partition panels of the egg carton which extend through appropriate openings formed in the bottom wall panels to raise the longitudinal center line of the bottom wall above the plane on which the carton rests. However, the openings formed in the bottom wall to accommodate the bottom wall supports are undesirable in that they weaken the carton structure and allow egg fluids to leak readily from the carton in the event one of the eggs contained therein is accidentally broken. Prior art cartons of this general type are described in US. Patents 2,387,314, 2,512,991 and 2,556,088.

I have now devised an egg carton structure having a bottom wall which is positioned above the plane on which the carton rests and which is imperforate or free of any openings through which egg liquids can leak. Moreover, my new egg cartonstructure provides maximum cradling support for each eg in the carton and is of simple construction amenable to assembly and set-up in automatic machinery. This result is achieved by providing a centrally positioned bottom rail which extends the entire length of the carton, the bottom rail being glued to the lower portion of the longitudinal central partition of the carton, the two imperforate bottom wall panels of the carton extending upwardly and inwardly from the bottom edges of the two side walls to the upper edge of the bottom rail of the carton. Specifically, the egg carton of my invention is formed from a-single-piece blank composed essentially of the following panels joined serially byfold lines: a tuck flap panel, a cover panel, a first side wall panel, a first bottom panel, a bottom rail panel, a

, first longitudinal central partition panel, a second longitudinal centnal partition panel, a second bottom panel, a second side wall panel, a transverse partition panel and a glue panel.

When the single piece egg carton blank of my invention is folded, glued and erected, it forms a carton composed essentially, in serially arranged order, of a tuck flap, a cover panel, a first side wall, a first bottom wall panel, a downwardly folded bottom rail panel, a first longitudinal central partition panel folded upwardly with the lower portion thereof in adhesive engagement with the bottom rail panel, a second longitudinal central partition panel folded downwardly in adhesive engagement with the first longitudinal central partition panel, a second bottom wall panel, a second side wall panel, a transverse partition positioned above the bottom wall panels, and a glue flap adhesively secured to the inner surface ofthe first side wall, the upper portions of the longitudinal cen- 3,l53,3fi Patented Nov. 24, 1964 tral partition panels being interconnected with the central portion of the transverse panel.

These and other novel features of the structure of my invention will be more readily understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which FIG. I is a top plan view of the one-piece blank from which the carton is assembled;

FIG. 2 is an end View of the assembled carton in its set-up condition prior to folding the transverse partition sections downwardly into the interior of the carton; and

FIG. 3 is a partial end view in perspective of the carton in its fully set-up condition.

. line 11 to a cover panel 12. The cover panel is joined along fold line 13 to a first side wall panel 14 which in turn is joined along a fold line 15 to a first imperforate bottom panel 16, and the first bottom panel is connected along a fold line 17 to a bottom rail panel 18. The bottom rail panel is joined along a fold line 19 to a first longitudinal central partition panel 20 which is joined along a fold line 21 to a second longitudinalcentral partition panel 22, the width of the first central partition panel 26 preferably being approximately equal to the combined widths of the bottom nail panel 18 and the second central partition panel 22. The second central partition panel is connected along a fold line 23 to a second imperfonate bottom panel 24 which is joined along fold line 25 to a second side wall panel 26. The second side Wall panel is connected by a fold line 27 to a transverse partition panel 28, and the transverse partition panel is joined along fold line 29 to a glue panel 3h.

The transverse partition panel 28 is provided with a plurality of transverse partition sections 31. These transverse partition sections aredefined by longitudinally disposed cut lines 32 and 33 extending generally along the line of the fold lines 27 and 29 respectively, and by transverse cut lines 34 which connect the'longitudinal cut lines 32 and 33. Moreover, the transverse partition sections 31 are hingeably connected to hinge tabs 35 of the transverse'partition panel 28 along transverse fold lines 3 5,

and each section is provided with centrally disposed gate portions 37 defined by longitudinal and transverse cut lines and fold lines as shown in FIG. 1 which facilitate erection of the canton as hereinafter described. In addition, the longitudinal centralpartition panels 2 3 and 22 are formed with abutting coextensive cut-out portions de- I wardly about the fold line 21 to glue the second central partition panel 22 to the first central partition panel 2%. The carton blank is then folded downwardly or outwardly about the fold line 17 and upwardly or inwardly about fold lines l5, l3 and 11, and also is folded upwardly or inwardly about the fold lines 23, 25, 27 and 29 as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing. When the transverse partition panel 28 is folded inwardly about the fold line 27, the uppermost portions of the central parition panels 20 and 22 (i.e., the portions'of these panels adjacent the fold line 21) extend through the gate portions 37 formed in the transverse partition sections 31, and the glue flap 39 is glued to the inside surface of the first side wall panel 14. The transverse partition sections 31 are then folded downwardly about the fold lines 36 into the interior of the carton to form vertically disposed transverse partitions as shown in FIG. 3. As previously mentioned, when the carton is erected as described, the centermost portion of each of the transverse partition sections 31 is received in a corresponding cut-out portion of the central partition panels 20 and 22, and the gate portions 37 of the transverse partition sections open as shown in the drawing to facilitate erection of the carton. After erection of the carton as described, the carbon is filled with eggs and the cover 12 is folded down so that the latching portions of the tuck flap It) will engage the triangular shaped hinge tabs 35 to close the carton is conventional fashion.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the resulting assembled egg carton is composed essentially, in serially arranged order, of a tuck flap 10, a cover 12, a first side wall 14, an upwardly and inwardly extending first bottom panel 16, a downwardly extending bottom rail panel 18, an upwardly extending first longitudinal central partition panel 20 the lower portion of which is adhesively secured to the bottom rail panel 18, a downwardly extending second longitudinal central partition panel 22 which is adhesively secured to the first central partition panel 20, a downwardly and outwardly extending second bottom panel 24, a second side wall 26, a transverse partition panel 28 disposed above the bottom wall panels 16 and 24, and a glue flap 30 adhesively secured to the side wall 14. As the height of the first central partition panel 20 is preferably approximately equal to the combined heights of the bottom rail panel 18 and the second central partition panel 22, the bottom rail panel 18 and the lower portion of the first central partition panel 20 together form a centrally positioned longitudinal bottom rail which extend the length of the egg carton structure and which maintains the bottom wall panels 16 and 24 above the plane on which the carton rests. The upper or major portion of the first longitudinal center panel 20 (Le. the portion of this panel not adhesively secured to the bottom rail panel 18) and the second longitudinal central partition panel 22 together from a centrally disposed longitudinal partition extending along the interior center line of the carton. The upper portion of this centrally disposed longitudinal partition is formed with a plurality of cut-out portions each of which is adapted to receive the central portion of one of the plurality of transverse partition section 31 of the transverse partition panel 28, the longitudinal partition and the transverse partition panel thereby being interconnected to form a multi-cellular carton structure as shown best in FIG. 3.

From the foregoing description of my new carton structure, it will be seen that the carton is provided with an 4 imperforate bottom wall that is maintained above the plane on which the carton rests by a centrally disposed bottom rail which extends the full length of the carton along the longitudinal center line thereof. (In this connection it should be noted that it is possible to reverse the serial order of the bottom rail panel 13, first central partition panel 20 and second central partition panel 22 in the carton structure without departure from my invention, and it is intended that the claims of this application cover such an obviously equivalent carton structure.) The spacing of the egg supporting bottom wall above the lowermost extremities of side walls 14 and 26 helps prevent contact of the bottom wall with hard objects or surfaces that might break the eggs resting on the bottom wall, and the absence of unwanted openings in the bottom wall helps prevent leakage of egg fluids in the event one of the eggs in the carton is accidently broken.

I claim:

1. A single-piece carton composed essentially in seriallyarranged order, a tuck flap, a cover panel, a first side wall, a first imperforated bottom wall panel, a bottom rail panel folded downwardly, a thin, longitudinal partition panel comprising a first central portion folded upwardly in adhesive engagement with the bottom rail and a second longitudinal central portion folded downwardly in adhesive engagement with the first central portion, a second imperforated bottom wall panel, a second side wall, a transverse partition panel positioned above the bottom wall panels, and a glue flap adhesively secured to the inner surface of the first side wall, said transverse partition panel being formed with a plurality of hinged transverse partition sections adapted to be folded downwardly into the interior of the carton to form transverse vertical partitions therein, each of said transverse vertical partition having a pair of gates located along their upper and lower edges adapted to engage the longitudinal partition panel and hold said longitudinal and transverse partitions in a stationary vertical position, the upper portion of the longitudinal partition panel being formed with a plurality of cut-out openings each of which is adapted to receive the central portion of one of said transverse vertical partitions.

2. The single-piece carton of claim 1, wherein the gates formed in each transverse vertical partition are defined by vertical cut lines extending inwardly from said upper and lower edges of said transverse partition panel and horizontal cut lines intersecting the inboard ends of said vertical cut lines.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,130,378 Bueschel Sept. 20, 1938 2,277,327 Inman Mar. 24, 1942 2,374,382 Rutledge Apr. 24, 1945 2,537,374 Schwartzberg Jan. 9, 1951 

1. A SINGLE-PIECE CARTON COMPOSED ESSENTIALLY IN SERIALLYARRANGED ORDER, A TUCK FLAP, A COVER PANEL, A FIRST SIDE WALL, A FIRST IMPERFORATED BOTTOM WALL PANEL, A BOTTOM RAIL PANEL FOLDED DOWNWARDLY, A THIN, LONGITUDINAL PARTITION PANEL COMPRISING A FIRST CENTRAL PORTION FOLDED UPWARDLY IN ADHESIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE BOTTOM RAIL AND A SECOND LONGITUDINAL CENTRAL PORTION FOLDED DOWNWARDLY IN ADHESIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FIRST CENTRAL PORTION, A SECOND IMPERFORATED BOTTOM WALL PANEL, A SECOND SIDE WALL, A TRANSVERSE PARTITION PANEL POSITIONED ABOVE THE BOTTOM WALL PANELS, AND A GLUE FLAP ADHESIVELY SECURED TO THE INNER SURFACE OF THE FIRST SIDE WALL, SAID TRANSVERSE PARTITION PANEL BEING FORMED WITH A PLURALITY OF HINGED TRANSVERSE PARTITION SECTIONS ADAPTED TO BE FOLDED DOWNWARDLY INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE CARTON TO FORM TRANSVERSE VERTICAL PARTITIONS THEREIN, EACH OF SAID TRANSVERSE VERTICAL PARTITION HAVING A PAIR OF GATES LOCATED ALONG THEIR UPPER END LOWER EDGES ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE LONGITUDINAL PARTITION PANEL AND HOLD SAID LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSE PARTITIONS IN A STATIONARY VERTICAL POSITION, THE UPPER PORTION OF THE LONGITUDINAL PARTITION PANEL BEING FORMED WITH A PLURALITY OF CUT-OUT OPENINGS EACH OF WHICH IS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE CENTRAL PORTION OF ONE OF SAID TRANSVERSE VERTICAL PARTITIONS. 